Mobile web traffic and email usage are among the most influential forms of marketing. Today, more people access the internet from their phones than their desktops. About 90% of text messages are read within three minutes, and most people spend the equivalent of 23 days out of the year on their phones. Mobile marketing offers a great way to connect to your customers.

Let’s look specifically at mobile deals: Using text messages to make product or service offers to customers and prospects.

How Mobile Deals WorkStarting a mobile-deals campaign connects you to your customers, and sends your promotions right into their pockets or purses. Utilizing SMS (text) messages, you have the ability to reach out at any moment.

Essentially, a mobile-deals campaign is like a coupon for cell phones. In 160 characters, you can provide business updates, promotional material, discounts and special offers immediately and instantly. You can send a message and see action right away. Alternately, businesses can also drive mobile campaigns purely through app usage, utilizing push notifications to alert users to deals and savings.

With nine in 10 mobile customers expected to redeem a coupon or code from a phone in 2017, now's the perfect time to break into the market.

Choose a PlatformIn order to launch a successful text campaign, you need to choose a platform. Unless you plan to send every text by hand from your cell phone, a third-party service is the easiest way to stay organized. There are many options, including stand-alone options such as SlickText, ProTexting and Trumpia, as well as comprehensive marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) tools that provide text options like Salesforce. Consider the tools you have on hand and your current CRM techniques in order to make the most appropriate choice for your business.

If you favor the idea of app-based marketing, you may be able to take advantage of existing app features, such as push notifications. Many do-it-yourself (DIY) mobile app builders as well as design firms can provide this functionality – and outside tools, like CRM software, can amplify these capabilities.

Create a CampaignBefore sending your first text, you need to know what you’re going to say. Instead of making mobile marketing a catch-all, create a concrete purpose for your messages. For many small businesses, generating leads is a key goal. How you choose to do this is up to you, but attracting attention may mean offering discounts, such as for a percentage off service, or a bonus, such as a free trial. Most businesses offer a benefit just by enrolling, giving customers incentive to take action. Enrollment practices will depend on your chosen platform, but is generally initiated by texting a chosen keyword to your text number.

You may love the idea of staying in repeated contact with your customers. But there’s a good chance they won’t feel the same way. Instead, limit your access to between two and four times a month. Keep your messages short and to the point, and provide ample opportunity to opt out, initiate future contact, or visit your website or app.

Finding the perfect balance may not be easy, but with some research and focus, it’s possible to define a campaign that’s perfectly suited for your marketing mission and brand identity.

Target CustomersDefining customers for your mobile campaign can be handled in a number of ways, depending on the results you're seeking. By using one, two, or even all of the below methods, you can build a thriving base of text-message subscribers to make the most of your mobile strategy.​

Via Email:Your email list is among the best possible ways to locate customers and prospects for your mobile campaign. You already have a channel of communication open, you know these individuals are interested in technology and you already have enough information to target appropriately. To solicit sign-ups, you can provide a form in the email that your customers can use to add contact information manually, or request that customers send a keyword to your phone number to enroll.

In Your Office:Want to target a demographic that is the most likely to buy from you? Start on your premises. When clients or prospective clients come into your office, they'll have an immediate line of contact available. Post signs with your enrollment keyword in your office and suggest it to clients you meet with.

On Your Website:Your website can also help find prospects for your mobile deals. Similar to an email marketing sign-up process, you can provide an online registration call to action for your mobile campaign. When registrants enter their names and phone numbers, you can begin immediately, providing auto-enrollment confirmations.

On Facebook or Twitter:Social media users are likely regular smartphone users as well, so this audience might overlap naturally with the ideal audience for your mobile strategy. Post an opportunity to enroll for mobile deals on your social media sites. Include an offer for those who sign up, such as a discount on service.

Via A Mobile App:Your mobile app users are perfect for a mobile marketing campaign. You have options here; you can either offer push notifications for app users who opt in, or use your app as a platform for text message enrollment.

Kick-Start Mobile DealsIf you want to attract more customers, you want mobile. By sending promotions, specials and deals via text or app, you can build new connections and keep customers engaged in a way that can't be ignored.